Willie alice hammer



(No Model.)

W. A. HAMMER. ANIMAL POKE.

No. 540,788. Patented June 11, 1895.

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UNITED STATES PATE T OFFI E.

WVILLIE ALICE HAMMER, OF PRESCOTT ARKANSAS, ASSIGNOR. TO M. \V. GREESON, OF SAME PLACE.

ANlMAL-POKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters latent No. 540,788, dated June 11, 1 895.

Application filed November 10, 1894- Serial No. 528,405. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIE ALIcE HAMMER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Prescott, in the county of Nevada and State ofArkansas, have invented a new and useful Animal-Poke, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to animal pokes of the class in which articulated poke-bars are employed, and it has for its object to provide means for preventing a cross sectionally rounded poke-bar from rolling or turning to bring the articulations orjoints in planes other than those in which they are disposed to pro vide for the necessary freedom of movement of the head of the animal; and, furthermore, to provide for additional freedom of movement of the head in grazing, such movement being independent of the movement of the neck which is allowed in otherdevices of this class, and to provide means for varying the point at which the upward movement of the head of the animal is limited.

Further objects and advantages of th'isinvention will appear'in the following description, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a view of a poke embodying my invention, applied in the operative position to a cow. Fig. 2 is a detail perspective View of the poke detached. Fig. 3 is a side View of a slightly-modified form of the invention. v

' Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

The poke-bar comprises a plurality of relatively movable sections A, B and 0 connected by articulations or joints at their contiguous ends to provide for vertical and lateral movement of the forward member C to which the head of the animal is connected. The main or rear section of the poke-bar is cross seclatter arranged between parallel perforated ears 5 of the former, and a pivot-bolt 7 engaging said tongue and parallel ears. Concave shoulders 8 are provided to bear against the rounded extremities of the ears 5. The joint between the intermediate section and the front sec'tion of the bar is formed by means of a hinge ll secured to the under sides of said parts, the rear V-shaped extremity of the section 0 being adapted to fit snugly iii the V-shaped notch 9 in the front end of the section B to limit the upward movement of the section C. Thus, the front end of the pokebar may be moved laterally with perfect freedom and downwardly from alignment with the body or main section of the bar, but cannot be'moved above the plane of said body or main section, whereby the head of the animal attached to the extremity of the front section C is held from elevation above a certain plane.

I From the above description, it will be seen that with the exception of the joint between the front and intermediate sections of the poke-bar the construction is similar to that heretofore employed in devices of this class, the advantage of this peculiar joint being that lateral straining of the hinge 11 is prevented, and when the extremity of the front section is strained upward by an effort of the animal to raise the head such strain is not sustained solely by the hinge, but partly by .the contacting faces of the contiguous extremities of the sections.

In order to provide for additional freedom of movement of the head of the animal, and particularly movement independent of that which depends upon the movement of the entire neck, I employ an auxiliary bar D which is pivotally connected to the front endof the front section of the poke-beam in position to swing in a vertical plane, said auxiliary bar being pivoted by means of a pin 13 between parallel ears 12 formed by bifurcating the front end of the section C, and this bar is adapted to occupy an upwardly and rearwardly inclined position substantially paral lel with the lower jaw of the animal. By pivoting said auxiliary bar at an intermediate point and connecting the extremities thereofto the head of the animal it is adapted to yield readily to the movements of the head of the animal particularly in grazing, and in order to provide for varying the position of the head or the limit of its upward movement, I preferably provide the bar D with a plurality of openings for engagement by the pin 13. a

The means for securing the head of the animal to the extremities of the auxiliary bar comprise a crown-band 14 adapted to engage the head of the animal in rear of the cars, a brow-band 15 adapted to pass over the head of the animal in front of the ears, and a noseband 16. The crown and brow-bands 14 and 15 are connected to the upper end of the bar D, and the nose-band to the lower end thereof, whereby a rearward movement of the nose of the animal in grazing is compensated for by loosening the bands 14 and 15, and thus a rocking movement of the head is possible without inconvenience to the animal.

Thus, with the improvement consisting of the auxiliary bar fulcrumed at an intermediate point and connected at its extremities, or upon opposite sides of its fulcrum, respectively. to the upper portion of the head to the nose of the animal, greater freedom of movement of the head is possible and adjustment of the head to vary the limit of its upward movement is possible. A further advantage of this construction, however, resides in the fact that the poke-bar is held from turning, and hence the articulations or joints between the several members of the bar are always held in their proper positions to allow the desired freedom of movement of the animal.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a spar 17 which is secured to the front section of the poke-bar to prevent the animal from passing between the runners of a wire fence, said spar serving to engage the runners and thus check the animal.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim is- 1. In an animal poke, the combination with an articulated or jointed poke-bar having its body portion crosssectionally rounded in construction and means for attaching the same to the body of an animal, of an auxiliary bar pivotally connected at an intermediate point to the front end of the poke-bar to swing in a vertical plane, and crown, brow, and nosebands for connecting the head of the animal to the extremities of said bar, respectively upon opposite sides of its fulcrum, whereby the bar is adapted to swing in a vertical plane to accommodate the movements of the head of the animal, and whereby the poke-bar is prevented from turning upon its axis to dispose its articulations or joints out of their proper planes, substantially as specified.

2. In an animal poke, the combination with an articulated or jointed poke-bar and means for attaching the same to the body of an animal, of an auxiliary bar pivotally connected at an intermediate point to the front extremity of the poke-bar and adapted to swing in a vertical plane, means for varying the pivotal point of said auxiliary bar to vary the limit of upward movement of the head of the animal, and bands connected respectively to the upper and lower extremities'of the auxiliary bar for connecting the head of the animal thereto, whereby said auxiliary bar is adapted to swing in a vertical plane to accommodate the movements of the head of the animal, substantiall y as specified.

In an animal poke, the combination of a poke-bar comprising a cross-sectionally rounded main rear section A, an intermediate section B jointed to the rear section to swing in a horizontal plane, and a front section 0 hinged to the front end of the intermediate section to swing in a vertical plane, the hinge being secured to the lower faces of the ends of said intermediate and front sections, means for securing the rear or main section of the poke-bar to the body of an animal, such means consisting of a back and a neck-strap, an auxiliary bar pivotally arranged in a bifurcation at the front end of the front section of the poke-bar to swing in avertical plane the auxiliary bar having a plurality of perforations engaged by a pivot-pin removably arranged in a transverse position intersecting said hifurcation of the front section 0, and bands attached to said auxiliary bar at its extremities for engagment with the head of the animal, said auxiliary bar being thereby held approximately in a. vertical plane to prevent the rolling of the poke-bar, substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIE ALICE HAMMER.

Witnesses:

R. L. MOORE, J. M. POWELL. 

